Leinster boss Leo Cullen predicts that Robbie Henshaw could be back in the Six Nations frame with Ireland ahead of the France clash on February 11.
Henshaw underwent wrist surgery at the end of November after a hamstring injury ruled him out for a number of weeks and it was hoped he would return in time for the championship opener against Wales in a fortnight's time.
The Leinster centre wasn't included in Andy Farrell's championship squad on Thursday, but Cullen believes that Henshaw is on the cusp of a return to action.
READ MORE: Ireland star Tadhg Furlong says Six Nations opener v Wales still his target after injury absence
"He was pretty touch and go," said Cullen of Henshaw's availability for the Six Nations clash in Cardiff.
"He probably just hasn't done enough yet but he'll join up with them at some stage, is my understanding.
"What exact week that is we'll wait and see but he's not a million miles away. It's a bit vague, that - obviously it won't be for the first game but I think it will be pretty close after that."
Cullen yesterday put the finishing touches on Leinster's preparation for their final Champions Cup pool game - the home tie with Racing 92 at the Aviva Stadium.
His starting line-up includes 14 players of Leinster's 20 players in Ireland's Six Nations squad, with Samoan tighthead Michael Ala'alatoa the odd man out.
Rising second row Joe McCarthy has got the nod for his first European start and will look to cap a memorable week after he made the Six Nations cut.
The Blues' stated aim was to be ruthless from the start to ensure they remain in Dublin as they look to make it to the final at the Aviva Stadium on May 20.
However Cullen was last night attempting to take pressure off his players by insisting that it wasn't the be all and end all to be top seeds heading into the Champions Cup last 16.
Certainly, Racing are highly motivated after Leinster put 40 points on them at their own home in December - and because the Top 14 outfit need a win to stay alive in the tournament this season.
Cullen recalls the events of 20 years ago, when Leinster also had a route to the final in Lansdowne Road but after beating Biarritz in the quarter-finals, they subsequently lost to Perpignan in the last four.
"Everyone started talking about the final and this road being mapped out but that's unfortunately not the way it is," he cautioned.
"There are very motivated teams. Even more recently in the URC, we lost a home semi-final against the Bulls. So there's no guarantees.
"Teams are highly motivated, just like Racing coming this weekend.
"So we're not really thinking too far ahead. We're just thinking about Racing - trying to get every single point we can because we have a huge amount of respect for them.
"Just because you're playing at home, there's no guarantee you're going to win the games. We're a lot of hard work to do.
"On the day (in the knock-outs) it doesn't matter - if you're finishing eighth and you're getting a crack at the team that finished first, you don't really care if they won four from four because it doesn't actually count for anything.
"It's just who's able to perform on the day. That's the big focus - to try to get whatever we can from the game."
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